Traditional stands typically include a base, a shaft and a boom arm so that an object (e.g., microphone, sheet music support) attached to the boom can be positioned sufficiently far from the shaft along a plane. This allows, for example, a guitar player to place the microphone directly in front of his mouth without having the upright portion (shaft) of the stand be in the way of the guitar. In some cases, the shaft is made up of telescoping tubes and an adjustment collar, which allows the overall height of the shaft to be adjusted.
However, a major drawback of the traditional stand involves the boom arm. The boom arm is exposed from the shaft and accordingly occupies a large amount of space. The retention and rotation assembly that attaches the boom to the shaft projects beyond the contour of the shaft and occupies a substantial amount of space. As a result, the boom and retention and rotation assembly obstruct a clear view of the performer standing behind the stand. Another drawback of the traditional stand concerns the tedious procedure of adjusting the boom relative to the shaft. That is, the retention and rotation assembly requires locking and unlocking (e.g., loosening and tightening a fastener) in order to adjust the angle of the boom relative to the shaft.
The traditional stand also lacks the capability of being easily arranged (e.g., collapsed, folded up) into a space-efficient and transportable configuration. For example, in order to reduce the amount of space the stand occupies along a plane during transport, one must unlock the retention and rotation assembly and disconnect the boom from the shaft into two separate parts. Such disassembly increases the chance that one or more parts may be lost during transport.
Several microphone stands have been developed to address some of the drawbacks related to boom arms. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,032 to Kuo discloses a foldable stand assembly for microphones. The assembly is designed with a microphone holder rod mounted above a telescoping shaft using a pivotal seat mechanism. The pivotal seat mechanism includes a seat secured to an upper end of the shaft, a connecting block connected to a lower end of the holder rod, a pin and tension knob for adjusting the inclined status of the holder rod, and a clamping sleeve for securing the holder rod to the connecting block. However, the microphone stand of Kuo fails to minimize view obstruction due to the overall size of the pivotal seat mechanism. The stand does not provide a space-efficient and transportable configuration due to the protruding pin and knob as well as the pivotal seat mechanism's inability to fully collapse into the shaft. Further, the microphone stand of Kuo requires more complex components and procedures for arranging the stand in a transportable configuration. Specifically, to collapse the stand, a user must: (1) unlock the clamping sleeve of the pivotal seat mechanism; (2) shift the holder rod so that its lower end is disposed within the clamping sleeve; (3) relock the clamping sleeve; (4) rotate the holder rod into alignment with the shaft by means of loosening the tension knob and pin; (5) unlock a shaft clamping sleeve so that an upper tube of the shaft is telescopically received within a lower tube of the shaft; (6) unlock the clamping sleeve of the pivotal seat mechanism; (7) shift the holder rod downward so that its lower end is telescopically received within the shaft; (8) relock the clamping sleeve of the pivotal seat mechanism to secure the holder rod relative to the upper tube of the shaft; and (9) relock the shaft clamping sleeve to secure the upper tube of the shaft relative to the lower tube of the shaft.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,594,371 to Wetzel et al. is directed to an articulated microphone boom assembly. The boom assembly includes a first hollow cylindrical telescoping boom, which is attached to a hollow hinge providing articulation with a second hollow cylindrical telescoping boom. The hinge includes a locking mechanism to fix the first boom at several predetermined angles in relation to the second boom. However, the hinge is not integrated fully within either the first boom or the second boom. The microphone stand of Wetzel also fails to provide a space-efficient and transportable configuration. For example, the hinge does not collapse into the first boom. Wetzel instead teaches that the hinge allows for the second boom to be disposed alongside and parallel to the first boom. Such a configuration still does not reduce the amount of space the entire boom assembly occupies along a plane. Moreover, the hinge comprises a pawl which is spring-loaded to engage and disengage one of several defined detent slots. This hinge mechanism can only provide predetermined articulated angles and lacks flexibility in adjusting the first boom relative to the second boom at any angle within a given range. The hinge mechanism requires locking and unlocking the locking mechanism in order to articulate the first boom, and thus does not allow for quick and easy adjustment.
While some microphone stands may provide some improvements over traditional stands, they still suffer from several disadvantages, including requiring a boom arm and a complex retention and rotation assembly. Another such disadvantage is the difficulty involved in adjusting the angle of the retention and rotation assembly. Another such disadvantage is the view obstruction caused by the boom arm and the retention and rotation assembly.